


Kiss Me

by JaycieVictory



Series: Sealed with a Kiss [9]
Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I have no idea why i wrote this, Jayne POV, Kiss Me by Ed Sheeran, River pov, Romance, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 07:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4171158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaycieVictory/pseuds/JaycieVictory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jayne doesn't kiss on the mouth - but River does. A collection of unrelated one-shots and ficlets in which River kisses Jayne. Moods vary hugely. Multiple POVs and scenarios.</p>
<p>Part 9: "As always, River's shakin' stopped when he held her; he could feel the wet of her tears on his neck and chest, but her cries had slowly faded away. As always, Jayne felt a strange pride that he could do that for her. For some head-scratchin' reason, she felt safe with him. Didn't make no sense – 'specially considerin' what had gone down on Ariel, but that didn't stop him feelin' proud that it was so. His arms tightened 'round her: gorram Moonbrain was a <em>fùdān</em>, but she was his burden to carry."</p>
<p>Songfic based on Ed Sheeran's "Kiss Me".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiss Me

**Author's Note:**

> Full lyrics and Mandarin translations can be found at the end.

**Kiss Me**

Jayne hated hearin' River cry. Before Miranda, he didn't much care what the Moonbrain felt, long as she stayed far, far away. Creepy  _fēng_ _diān_ _guàirén_. So hearin' her cries at night had only bothered when they disturbed his sack time.

After Miranda, he figured it'd stop.

After Miranda, he started carin' that it hadn't.

Gorram life debts.

He figured finally gettin' that  _gǒu shǐ_ the Alliance had put in her head out mighta stopped the nightmares, and the tears. 'Stead, they seemed to grow worse. Moonling said it was the price she paid for "unclouded reality", said it was a price worth payin'. Refused the drugs that the Doc still offered. She weren't the only one who paid that price, though; what with their bunks bein' side by side. And now that Simon bunked with Kaylee, he didn't always hear her cries.

So, here he was. Two in the gorram mornin' and wide awake, listenin' to the best ruttin'  _lì qì_  the 'verse'd ever known cryin' like her heart would break. It was the third night runnin', and Jayne couldn't take it no more. He got up.

_Settle down with me_  
_Cover me up_  
_Cuddle me in_  
_Lie down with me_  
_Hold me in your arms_

River loved crying. For so long it had been an emotion denied to her. A weapon could not be emotive or empathetic; a weapon should not feel. Clinical hands affixing neural dampeners to disengage her from emotion… until they thought they had found a more permanent solution and sliced through her brain. Then she had felt too much. Then she had felt everything. Grief without purpose, madness without love.

Since Miranda, she had learned a measure of control – erected enough barriers to compartmentalise, to distinguish between others' feelings and her own, at least in part. At nighttime she could not sustain these parameters; they seeped their way into her dreams.

Tears were a gift; an assurance that she was more than a weapon. Even if feeling the pain of so many others – Zoë's ragged grief over Wash, the jagged pieces of Mal's shattered faith, and the fury of a million dead voices from a dead planet – even if these sometimes made her sob and shake with the weeping that wracked her, tears were still a gift. After all, they had brought her her greatest blessing.

The door to her bunk opened; someone was descending the ladder. River mutely held out her arms and waited. For the third night, Jayne lay down beside her and took her in his arms.

_Your heart's against my chest_  
_Lips pressed to my neck_  
_I've fallen for your eyes_  
_But they don't know me yet_

Pressed against him, she felt his heartbeat like it was her own; mouth to his throat, she felt his pulse like a trembling kiss.

Three nights they had lain like this; strong arms providing a framework to cling to, until the tears cried themselves out, until she slept.

He was always gone by morning.

River pulled back a little, head tilting as she met his gaze. Even in the dim lighting, Jayne's cerulean eyes seared. (She didn't mind; she had long since accepted their branding.) They were wary, uncertain, even grudging. But his arms were rock steady.

_Settle down with me_  
_And I'll be your safety_  
_You'll be my lady_

As always, River's shakin' stopped when he held her; he could feel the wet of her tears on his neck and chest, but her cries had slowly faded away. As always, Jayne felt a strange pride that he could do that for her. For some head-scratchin' reason, she felt safe with him. Didn't make no sense – 'specially considerin' what had gone down on Ariel, but that didn't stop him feelin' proud that it was so. His arms tightened 'round her: gorram Moonbrain was a  _fùdān_ , but she was his burden to carry.

_I was made to keep your body warm_ __  
But I'm cold as the wind blows  
_So hold me in your arms_

One of the worst things about the Academy had been the cold. Before the Academy, before the Alliance, River had always run a little hot. Refusing to wear coats because they stifled her; dancing in the snow in short-sleeves. Simon had called her his  _fēng_ _diān_ _xuěrén_. That sobriquet had become painfully ironic.

At the Academy, it was always cold. Ice-white walls, freezing floors, gelid liquids in her veins – River could never get warm. She grew to hate the cold, so reflective of the Alliance's inhuman indifference. When she had first emerged from the box, from total insanity, she periodically sought heat – lying between Serenity's walls, embracing the humming engine at Her heart. They were the warmest places she could find… until Jayne.

_Kiss me like you wanna be loved_  
_Wanna be loved_  
_Wanna be loved_

River's eyes told a thousand tales in a dozen languages. All of which Jayne struggled to read. But something about them made him think of golden summer days and a comforting embrace; of cooling pies on windows and fishin' with his Pa; of Vera's sleek lines and piles of pretty gold; of the soothing clink of weights and shiny, satin skin.

Every longing Jayne had ever had, every good thing, at every stage of life. Inviting him, asking, promising…

His gaze fell to her lips.

_Yeah, I've been feeling everything_  
_From hate to love_  
_From love to lust_  
_From lust to truth_  
_I guess that's how I know you_

Jayne's eyes were at war. Emotions flickering back and forth, vying for dominance. River could sympathise. She had gone through the same tumultuous process the first time he had taken her in his arms.

Mistrustful of what he offered; wary since Ariel; contrite since the knife.

Surprised when the betrayer proved himself the most solid thing in her world.  
Bewildered when she realised he was her greatest comfort.  
Shaken to the core when she recognised a kindred spirit.  
Yearning with a new kind of ache when her body curled round his.

Yes, River could sympathise – it was just that she was a few steps ahead.

A few steps ahead, and unable to wait any longer.

Closing her eyes, she crossed the remaining distance between them and brought her mouth to his. For a few heart-stopping moments, Jayne was immobile with shock… then he began to kiss her back.

_This feels like I've fallen in love  
_

Hearts skipped once more, then began again in perfect unison. Limbs entwined, so that it became difficult to tell where each ended and the other began.

_Fallen in love_

The next morning, when River awoke, Jayne was still in her arms.

_I've f_ _allen in love_

* * *

**Glossary**

_**_fēng_ _diān –_ ** _ **crazy (adj.)**

_**fùdān –** _ **burden**

_**gǒu shǐ** _ **– s**t**

_**guàirén –** _ **oddball**

_**lì qì** _ **_a_  – sharp weapon; effective implement; an outstandingly able individual**

**Author's Note:**

> Kiss Me
> 
> _Settle down with me_   
>  _Cover me up_   
>  _Cuddle me in_   
>  _Lie down with me_   
>  _Hold me in your arms_
> 
>  
> 
> _Your heart's against my chest_   
>  _Lips pressed to my neck_   
>  _I've fallen for your eyes_   
>  _But they don't know me yet_
> 
>  
> 
> _And the feeling I forget_  
>  _I'm in love now_
> 
>  
> 
> _Kiss me like you wanna be loved_  
>  _Wanna be loved_  
>  _Wanna be loved_
> 
>  
> 
> _This feels like I've fallen in love_  
>  _Fallen in love_  
>  _Fallen in love_
> 
>  
> 
> _Settle down with me_  
>  _And I'll be your safety_  
>  _You'll be my lady_
> 
>  
> 
> _I was made to keep your body warm_  
>  _But I'm cold, as the wind blows_  
>  _So hold me in your arms_
> 
>  
> 
> _My heart's against your chest_  
>  _Your lips pressed to my neck_  
>  _I've fallen for your eyes_  
>   
>  _But they don't know me yet_  
>  _And the feeling I forget_  
>  _I'm in love now_
> 
>  
> 
> _Kiss me like you wanna be loved_  
>  _Wanna be loved_  
>  _Wanna be loved_
> 
>  
> 
> _This feels like I've fallen in love_  
>  _Fallen in love_  
>  _Fallen in love_  
> 
> _Yeah I've been feeling everything_  
>  _From hate to love_  
>  _From love to lust_  
>  _From lust to truth_  
>  _I guess that's how I know you_  
>     
>  _So hold you close_  
>  _To help you give it up_
> 
>  
> 
> _So kiss me like you wanna be loved_  
>  _Wanna be loved_  
>  _Wanna be loved_
> 
>  
> 
> _This feels like I've fallen in love_  
>  _Fallen in love_  
>  _Fallen in love_


End file.
